Dark clouds blanketed the entire sky, thunder rumbling as if summoning the dead from this silent world—like the apocalypse itself loomed near.
Nestled beneath that gloom, in the kingdom's highest reaches, stood a luxurious yet utterly eerie mansion. Its black-painted walls bore twin monuments of curling horns protruding from the uppermost arches.
The garden rivaled heaven's splendor, but its flowers seemed to devour the world with vicious maws. These plants appeared planted to punish any who erred within the mansion's shadowed halls.
Inside the throne room, the air hung tense and thick with the metallic tang of bloodlust. Atop the obsidian throne sat a hulking figure, two massive black horns curling menacingly from his brow, his devious and grotesque face twisted in fury as he bellowed at the cowering figures below.
"What?!" he roared, his voice a guttural thunder. "You still haven't found that woman's body?! You—all of you—are utterly useless! You can't even kill and capture an injured wretch!"
With every venomous word, the tension coiled tighter, his rage swelling like a storm about to break.
"GO FIND HER BODY!! OR THE WORLD WILL NEVER FIND YOURS!!" the horned tyrant roared, his orders crashing like thunder upon the cowering throng below.
Those at the foot of the throne—trembling minions—bowed low and fled in panicked haste, cowed like whipped dogs with defeat etched in every frantic step.
"Where could that woman be?" he muttered, the dreaded thought slithering through his mind. "What if she somehow survived?"
His body convulsed at the notion.
"No, no, no—that's impossible. Never. Yes, the poison... the poison has no remedy." The Demon Lord clutched at these words, consoling himself in the dim throne room's shadows.
Here in the Demon Realm, the current lord sweated buckets, paranoia gnawing at his soul.
Yet on the distant human side, the very being he feared slumbered peacefully on a simple bed inside a mortal's humble hut.
As the sun rose in the early morning, a beautiful stream of light fell inside through an open crack in the wooden window, falling gracefully on Alex's handsome face and waking him from his slumber.
Rising from the floor, he scratched his head; his disheveled clothes and messy hair made him look like a lazy immortal.
He glanced at the still-sleeping Lilith, smiled faintly, and went to freshen up. Then he started preparing breakfast.
Lilith's POV:
'Betrayed? Shit, shit—where did things go wrong over these hundred years? Where? What did I do wrong? And how did they poison me? When did I lower my guard? When did I soften?'
I kept thinking as my breath grew ragged, blood dripping from my ears, eyes, nose, and mouth—likely the poison's effects.
My body ached with exhaustion, probably because my mana was sealed; that's why it wasn't regenerating. I should have known. At first, I'd dismissed it as a minor illness, but...
I kept running as enemies chased me. I used my last scrap of mana to teleport, lacking the power to control the destination—I simply trusted fate.
Who knew where I'd land? Back in the demon kingdom, to be slain by that demon? Or in the human realm, to be cut down for trespassing in my weakened state, defenseless against them?
This path led only to death..... probably.
But when I woke, I found myself not in a buried coffin in some graveyard, but in a small wooden hut.
My external wounds had healed, yet I couldn't move my body.
Did someone seal it? I brooded on darker possibilities. Then that man appeared.
All smiles, looking every inch the fool—at first, I suspected manipulation.
But time revealed he wasn't fearless or brave, no peak alpha like knights in shining armor.
He was just kind... no!, a pathetic fool, yes! A pathetic one!, acting without heed for consequences.
That damn fool slept on the floor. Still wary, I stayed awake, watching to see if he'd take advantage. Yet I was the fool—he slumbered peacefully like a babe while I exhausted myself tracking his every twitch. If he'd craved my vulnerability, why waste words? Why hesitate? With my defenseless body, he needed no caution.
Next day, as he stirred, I snapped my eyes shut. His gaze lingered; I braced for the strike.
But I was wrong. He simply left...
Damn Fool!!
End Lilith's POV